Then on the Shore of the Wide World
The city was in great panic, neighbors
crushing under neighbors, making a wave
of worry cresting an undercurrent
of resolve, which seemed natural because
in my dream a river marked the landscape
otherwise indistinguishable with snow
and a few pines rising, so a valley
even the city’s mayor was prepared
to walk away from, out to the boats waiting
at the docks. Her eyes pushed past mine, and I knew
the official position wasn’t planned for—
not evacuation but exodus.
I couldn’t name what was coming but felt
the truth …
